The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench ‘H’, adjudicated on the appeal filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT), Circle-4(2), New Delhi against the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-2, New Delhi. The appeal, registered as ITA No. 354/DEL/2021, pertains to the assessment year 2017-18.
Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India Pvt. Ltd., located at Room No.CE-05, Import Building-2, International Cargo Terminal, IGI Airport, New Delhi-110037, filed its return of income for the assessment year 2017-18 on 29.11.2017 declaring income of Rs.1,82,82,970/-. The case was selected for scrutiny and thereafter, assessment was framed under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 vide order dated 28.12.2019. The total income of the assessee company was determined at Rs.17,76,52,651/-. Aggrieved by the order of the A.O., the assessee carried the matter in appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], who decided the issue in favour of the assessee on 03.09.2020.
The Revenue raised the following grounds of appeal:
The case was heard on 04.08.2022, and the order was pronounced on 31.08.2022. The Tribunal, comprising Shri Anil Chaturvedi, Accountant Member, and Shri Narender Kumar Choudhary, Judicial Member, reviewed the submissions and the relevant facts of the case.
The main issue in this appeal was the disallowance of the deduction claimed under Section 80IA amounting to Rs.15,93,69,681/-. The Assessing Officer (AO) contended that for getting the benefit of deduction under Section 80IA, it was a prerequisite that the entity should have entered into an agreement with a statutory authority to carry out prescribed activities in an eligible business. In this case, the AO noted that Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India Pvt. Ltd. had entered into a concession agreement with Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL), and not directly with a statutory authority.
During the assessment proceedings, the AO noted that the assessee had claimed the deduction under Section 80IA from the assessment year 2011-12. However, the AO held that the assessee was not eligible for the deduction since it had not entered into an agreement with a statutory authority. Consequently, the AO denied the deduction claimed by the assessee.
On appeal, the CIT(A) referred to the orders of the Delhi Bench of the Tribunal in the assessee’s own case for the assessment years 2011-12 and 2012-13, wherein it was held that the assessee was eligible for deduction under Section 80IA. Since the facts of the case in the assessment year 2017-18 were identical to those in the earlier years, the CIT(A) allowed the deduction.
The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)’s order, noting that the Revenue had not pointed out any distinguishing facts in the year under consideration compared to the earlier years, nor provided any material to demonstrate that the earlier orders of the Tribunal had been set aside or overruled by a higher judicial forum. Therefore, the grounds raised by the Revenue were dismissed.
The appeal filed by DCIT, Circle-4(2), New Delhi was dismissed.
Order pronounced in the open court on 31.08.2022.
Signed by:
(Narender Kumar Choudhary) – Judicial Member
(Anil Chaturvedi) – Accountant Member
Date: 31.08.2022
*PY*
Copy forwarded to:
Assistant Registrar, ITAT, Delhi Benches, Delhi
Manage the increasing number of hearings effortlessly by leveraging the legal AI revolution We are India's Leading revolutionary AI-powered legal platform where you can get enough insights into top cases and judgements.
Research Platform